Board of Directors

Chair

Peter Veiga, Region of Durham

Peter Veiga has over fifteen years of experience in solid waste and recycling policy, program development and operations; and has been instrumental in the development of several leading waste diversion initiatives, including early testing of automated collection systems, the implementation of one of Ontario's first green bin organics programs, an expansion of the blue box programs and development of waste management plans. Currently part of the Regional Municipality of Durham waste management team, Mr. Veiga is developing and implementing several initiatives that will help Durham reach its 70 per cent waste diversion goals, most recently of which was a Guinness World Records attempt for the collection of batteries. Mr. Veiga has been an RCO member for several years and has sat on the board since 2007, was Vice-Chair in 2011, and has been Acting Chair since October 2012. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto.

Vice-Chair

Gordon Day, Reclay StewardEdge

Gordon Day has over twenty years experience in waste reduction and recycling, including twelve years as a consultant at Resource Integration Systems where he worked on waste diversion projects for municipal, provincial, federal governments, industry, trade associations, and private companies. He joined CSR in 2001 and has been involved in the Ontario 3Rs datacall; development, implementation and operation of the blue box program; and municipal hazardous and special waste programs for Stewardship Ontario and Ontario Electronic Stewardship. Mr. Day is a founding member of Reclay StewardEdge, a progressive consultancy that serve stewardship compliance and material management support for corporate clients throughout the Americas. A three-term RCO Director, Mr. Day has actively participated on the policy and business development committees, Waste Minimization Awards and several policy sessions.

Secretary

Kevin Bechard, Entropex

Kevin Bechard is an owner and Vice-President, Development with Entropex, an Ontario company that annually recycles 80,000 tonnes (175 million pounds) of Blue Box post-consumer and post-industrial plastics for a wide range of consumer product, manufacturing and construction applications. Driving innovation, Kevin has recently been responsible for the development and commercialization of Entropex’s award-winning RigidReclaimTM technology providing for recovery of 3-7 plastics in Ontario – a first in North America. During his career Kevin has been involved in many operational and functional roles in the waste and recycling industries including business management, project development, regulatory approvals, and public affairs in corporate, private company and government settings. Kevin has sat on the Boards of the OWMA, RCO, and was a founding member of the Canadian Clean Technology Coalition (2010) formed to promote the profile of the clean technology industry and its contribution to the Canadian economy.

Directors

Joe Hruska, Hruska & Associates

A well-known recycling industry executive, Joe Hruska brings a wealth of experience from various sectors including steel, petroleum, commercial banking, public policy and environmental protection. Joe is President of Hruska & Associates, Environment & Management Strategies Group that advises clients on product stewardship issues and business management strategies. His past experience includes Executive Director of the Dofasco and Stelco joint steel can and empty aerosol recycling efforts, a ministerial appointment to Ontario’s Recycling Advisory Committee, a number of senior executive and Board of Director positions with OMMRI and Corporations Supporting Recycling where he worked directly in establishing the Blue Box, Blue Box Funding Programs and other waste diversion programs such as Household Special Waste and Electronics. He served as a director and Vice Chair on the Recycling Council of Ontario for 10 years. Other past directorships have included Third Sector Recycling, Municipal Waste Integration Network and Collective Selective Quebec.

Paulina Leung, Emterra Environmental

Paulina Leung is the Business Development Manager of Emterra Environmental and has been with the company for seven years. During this time, her role has grown from operations support to management trainee to her current position in which she is responsible for initiatives that grow and develop all business opportunities within Emterra. These include bidding on new contracts; the implementation of new contracts; corporate communications; and undertaking special projects, especially those related to customer service delivery, operational efficiency, and green/alternative fuels and technology. Ms. Leung holds an Honours Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and was selected for an exchange at the Università Commerciale Luige Bocconi in Milan, Italy. A long-standing member and supporter of RCO, Ms. Leung brings operator experience, business training and knowledge, and commitment to fresh thinking and new approaches to the table.